


Saboteur

by heavensgirl



Category: Jurassic Park (Movies), Jurassic World (2015)
Genre: F/M, Humor, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Mild Language, Owen's Got A Crush and It's Super Cute, Pre-Incident, Pre-Jurassic World, Romance, Some OOC-ness, Too Many Ideas In My Head
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-30
Updated: 2015-09-30
Packaged: 2018-04-12 01:17:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4459703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heavensgirl/pseuds/heavensgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Saboteur: noun; a person who destroys something deliberately. Also known as: Owen intentionally ruining every date that Claire goes to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Green-Eyed Monster

**Author's Note:**

> Standard disclaimer applies. Any names used in this story are fictional; they were randomly chosen for the purpose of this fanfiction. 
> 
> Also, I think there are some OOC-ness here; bear with me.

“Please tell me you’re kidding.”

“With this getup, she won’t even recognize you.”

“Remind me again why I’m helping you.”

A sheepish grin. “Because we’re the best of friends?”

“A friend does not risk another friend’s job.”

“Trust me, Barry, she won’t recognize you at all,” said Owen Grady, urging his friend and co-worker to wear the wig and fake mustache that Owen held out to him. “You look great!”

Barry glared at Owen and checked himself in the mirror, wearing a waiter’s uniform and adjusting the aforementioned mustache on his face. “I look ridiculous,” he deadpanned.

Owen ignored Barry’s comment and peeked inside the restaurant through the kitchen door windows, finding a certain redhead with a good-looking man sitting across from her. Said man leaned and whispered something to her ear that made her smile and her eyes twinkled good-naturedly. Owen narrowed his eyes as he tore his gaze away from the couple to look at Barry who was scowling at him.

“What?” Owen asked, fishing a vial from his pocket. He gave Barry another sheepish smile before squeezing two drops of an unknown substance on a bowl of clam chowder. With a satisfied nod, he lifted the tray and passed it to Barry.

There was an excited gleam in Owen’s eyes as he gave Barry instructions, “He ordered the clam chowder while she ordered the vegetable soup. Make sure you give the right soup to the right person.”

“How do you know he won’t offer her some of his chowder?”

“She’s allergic to shellfish.”

“And you know that… how?”

“Not important. Now go, go, go!”

With a groan, Barry slowly made his way to Table 4.

\---

Claire Dearing was having a wonderful night. Her date, Jake Nielsen, was a great guy. He was smart, sweet, and had beautiful dimples on both cheeks. He was the supervisor for Jurassic World’s marketing team and had asked her out a week ago when they ran into each other at Starbucks on their way to work. She gladly accepted his offer, knowing firsthand from their conversations that Jake was an extremely nice guy.

Claire started out as assistant assets manager in Jurassic World almost five years ago. As she gradually made her way towards the top of the company ladder, it became harder for Claire to find time to socialize – not because she disliked it, but Claire wanted to prioritize what was important to her first, which was to help run a business. It made her happy, productive, and successful.

However, there would be days when she would feel a little lonely, wondering what it would be like to receive some affection from a special person. Her assistant and friend, Zara, kept encouraging her to “loosen up a bit” and to enter the dating world again. Claire gave in; it _has_ been a while since she’s been out and about for a date…

“Ah, our soup is here!” said Jacob, smiling at Claire and pointing to the tall man with a mustache who approached their table in an almost-hesitant manner.

Claire tilted her head and narrowed her eyes slightly as she examined their waiter. He looked awfully familiar, but Claire couldn’t quite place where she has seen him.

The waiter smiled at them nervously as he placed their respective soups on the table. Jacob gave an enthusiastic “Thanks!” and instantly devoured his clam chowder while Claire continued to observe the waiter as he almost sprinted back to the kitchen.

\---

Barry exhaled loudly as he made his way back to Owen who was pacing back and forth until he noticed Barry’s return. “So, did he eat the chowder?”

“Devoured it.”

“Excellent.”

“What did you put in his soup anyway?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Owen…”

“Okay, okay. It’s a laxative, nothing harmful! He’ll just have to make multiple trips to the bathroom and this date will be out the window.”

Barry shook his head. He didn’t know whether to feel sorry for Claire’s date or to congratulate Owen for his ingenious idea of how to ruin a date. “You’re hopeless.”

\---

Claire placed a hand on Jacob’s arm, worry etched on her face as she watched his face took on a painful look. “Is something wrong, Jacob?”

He showed her a weak smile as beads of sweat formed on his forehead. “I… I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”

Before Jacob can utter another word, he made a quick beeline towards the men’s bathroom. Claire pursed her lips, confused by his sudden change of demeanor. She played with her untouched soup, wondering if Jacob was going to be alright.

Jacob emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later, his face sweatier and redder and he looked about ready to return to the bathroom. Claire made eye contact with him and Jacob gave her a reassuring smile that turned into a look of pain before he ran to the bathroom again.

“Must be food poisoning,” she whispered to herself, pushing the bowl of soup away from her for fear of getting sick like her date.

After another 10 minutes, Jacob exited the bathroom again, looking pale and upset. “I… I think I better go home. The soup isn’t sitting well with my stomach.”

Claire stood up from her seat. “Would you like me to accompany you home? You don’t look well.”

“I’ll be okay as soon as I get home and, uh, let out everything,” he said, cringing at his poor choice of words. “I am so sorry about this, Claire.”

Claire gave him a sympathetic smile. “No need to apologize. I will have a word with the cook before I leave to let them know there’s clearly something wrong with the clam chowder.”

“I, uh, I guess I’ll call you?” he asked.

Claire nodded. “That sounds great. I hope you get well soon.”

He kissed Claire’s hand. “Thanks.”

Claire watched Jacob almost sprint out the restaurant before making her way to the kitchen. She talked to the manager and the cook, both who apologized profusely especially because they knew who Claire was. Claire actually surprised herself that she didn’t feel _too_ angry and instead took their offer of a free dinner for her next date. Maybe she was just too stunned with the night’s events to come up with a better complaint.

Claire returned to their ( _her_ , she mentally corrected) table and plopped down a bit ungracefully on her seat. She bit her bottom lip; this was not how she imagined this date would turn out.

“Claire?”

Claire whipped her head and saw Owen Grady smiling down at her. “Owen?”

“Fancy seeing you here,” he commented. He looked at her outfit for the night. “You look nice in purple, by the way.”

A tinge of pink graced her pretty face. “Thank you.”

“Are you by yourself?”

“No… well, yes, now I am…” Claire sighed and shifted awkwardly in her seat. “Uhm, would you like to sit down?”

“Where’s your date?” said Owen who cackled internally, being fully aware of what really happened to her date.

“Oh, he went home, actually,” she said, embarrassed. She fiddled with the table napkin on her lap. “Owen, I don’t want you to think that I just asked you to join me because I don’t want to be sitting alone… you don’t have to… actually, I should probably just go home…”

Owen held his hand up and took the seat across from her. “Relax, Claire. I’d love to join you.”

She smiled gratefully. “Thank you.” She lowered her voice so Owen had to lean closer to hear her whisper, “Just don’t order the clam chowder, ok?”

If Owen could, he would have laughed out loud.

Claire felt quite relieved that her night didn’t end as horribly as she thought it would after her original date left in a rush. Meanwhile, Owen mentally patted himself on the back, feeling happy that he was able to pull off a successful sabotage that allowed him to end this night with Claire.

* * *

 

“Is that him, the guy with the green shirt?”

“Yep.”

“And you want me to do what, exactly?”

“Get him so mad that he’ll try to punch you.”

“What in the world, Grady? You want me to get knocked out?”

“We both know that won’t happen. You’ll knock him out before he can even say ‘oh shit.’”

“You’re hopeless, Grady.”

\---

Beck the ACU guy asked Claire for dinner at Winston’s Steakhouse, one of the high-end restaurants in Isla Nublar. It was no surprise for Owen because Claire and Beck knew each other before either of them started working for Jurassic World. They had been friends in high school, lost touch when they went to college, but rekindled their friendship when they met again as employees for the park.

Beck was a sweet guy whenever Claire was around; but Owen knew better. The guy was short-tempered and his hobby included bullying some of the new ACU recruits. When Beck would be assigned to escort another executive to the raptor paddock, he never missed the chance of provoking Owen’s raptors by banging on the metal gates of their paddock. It always made Owen see red.

That was why Owen felt particularly happy today because he was going to hit two birds with one stone: first, he’s going to make sure that Beck would be the worst date ever and second, he was going to make sure that he would get revenge on him for always picking on his raptors.

His friend, Craig, a hulking guy who worked at the triceratops enclosure, was going to help Owen do just that.

\---

Beck offered his arm to Claire as she entered the restaurant. “Claire, you look stunning.”

“Thank you,” Claire said, allowing Beck to take her to their reserved table at Winston’s Steakhouse. Before they reached their table, however, a big burly man accidentally bumped into Beck that almost sent him and Claire tumbling on the floor were it not for a few servers who caught them. After composing himself, an enraged Beck stomped towards the man who Claire recognized as Craig, the gentle giant who worked with the park’s triceratops.

“Hey!” yelled Beck. “Don’t walk away without apologizing! Hey!”

Craig turned around, confused. “What?”

“What the fuck do you mean ‘what?’! You almost made me fall, you jackass!”

“I’m sorry, I was in a rush,” Craig said in a calm manner. He glanced at Claire. “I’m sorry Miss Dearing.”

Claire gave him a small smile. “No worries, Craig.”

Unlike Claire, Beck didn’t accept Craig’s apology and excuse. The short-tempered and hot-headed ACU member was about to land a punch on Craig when the big guy instinctively (and easily) dodged his blow. Not backing down, Beck tried to land another punch that Craig dodged yet again, causing Beck to lose his balance and fall face first on the floor.

By then, a staff member had called security to stop the rampaging Beck before he makes the situation worse. Claire – who stood near their forgotten table – looked upset and gave Beck a stern glare as he was escorted out of the establishment. She didn’t know that he was that temperamental and she definitely did not like how he treated Craig who _did_ apologize to them.

With a sigh, she apologized to the staff and to Craig before she decided to call it a day. She was stressed and frustrated: first, her second date failed before it even began and second, it was still dinner time and she has not eaten yet. Her stomach growled but she didn’t want to go back to the Steakhouse after the scene with Beck.

She was deliberating on where to go for dinner when a voice startled her. “You look a little lost.”

Claire jumped at Owen’s sudden appearance. “It’s you,” she said in a gloomy tone.

Owen raised an eyebrow. “Whoa there, what did I do?”

She shook her head. “Sorry, it’s not you. It’s been a long night and it’s not even past seven.” To her horror, her stomach grumbled quite loudly. Claire felt her face grow warm in embarrassment.

Owen grinned. “Sounds like you haven’t had any dinner yet.”

“No kidding,” she said. “I’m actually craving for some burger from Dave and Buster’s right now.”

“Need some company?”

Her frustrated look was replaced with a smile. “That would be lovely.”

Owen got to spend the rest of the night in Claire’s company, listening as she shared stories of her college life and her two nephews whom she hasn’t seen for many years. As for Claire, she listened with rapt attention as Owen told her some of his experiences while he was in the Navy.

Despite the lingering guilt that was eating at his conscience, Owen thought this sabotage was better than the last one not only because he got to spend more time with Claire, but also because Owen felt that his raptors were avenged when Beck made a fool of himself in front of countless of people, most especially Claire.

* * *

 

“You have such an interesting approach on you endeavor to woo Claire.”

“I’m not trying to woo her.”

“Riiight. So why are you trying to sabotage this date?”

Silence

“Admit it, Owen. You’re doing this because you don’t want her to date anybody other than yourself.”

Owen still remained silent.

“You’re hopeless, you know that?”

“Like I’ve never heard that before,” muttered Owen sarcastically.

“You owe me big time.”

“Thanks, Lowery.”

\---

The Gondola Lift was Claire’s favorite ride at Jurassic World. The ride took guests up to the highest spot on Isla Nublar, giving them a spectacular view of the park. It’s been a while since Claire had the opportunity to ride the lift, so when David – a tech specialist for the park – asked her what she wanted to do for a nice lunch together, she immediately suggested the ride.

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon when Claire arrived at the entrance of the Gondola Lift, fifteen minutes ahead of her scheduled lunch with David. She smiled at some of the employees she passed by as she waited near the entryway, looking out as people excitedly boarded their rides.

Claire frowned when she felt her phone vibrate in her purse. “Hello?”

_“Claire?”_

Claire could tell David was peeved. “David? What’s the matter?”

_“I’m afraid I will have to cancel our lunch plans today. Lowery needs my help with our system’s firewall; apparently he found a few vulnerabilities.”_

“I must get there immediately then.”

_“No, we’ve got it under control. It’s your day off, Claire. Try to enjoy it. And I’m really sorry again…”_

“It’s okay, David. I’ll see you tomorrow at work, okay?”

Claire understood David’s predicament: because he was one of the park’s top tech specialists, he was always on call in case serious matters regarding Jurassic World’s system come up. Nevertheless, Claire bit back a frustrated groan.

She was on her way back to her car when someone called out her name. Claire turned around and saw Owen dismounting his motorcycle, smiling that irresistible smile that she realized she would like to see more often.

“You seem to always be in the right place at the right time,” she said as Owen approached her.

“What was that?”

“Nothing. What are you doing here?”

“It’s my day off and I needed a change of scenery. I thought the Gondola Lift is the best place for that.”

“Yeah, it’s my favorite ride,” said Claire.

Owen’s smile grew wider. “Well, since we’re both here, we might as well go together. Let me just get the tickets.”

“No need for that,” Claire said, plucking two VIP tickets from her bag, “I have them already.”

Owen glanced at the ticket she gave him. At his questioning look, she explained, “I’ve made special arrangements for a nice picnic for lunch today.”

“Were you supposed to be on a date today?”

Claire looked flustered. “Something came up and he couldn’t show up.”

“I see.”

“I’m sorry.”

Owen looked at her inquisitively. “For what?”

“I feel like you’ve been giving me such huge favors for always accompanying every time a date ends disastrously.”

“Claire, you don’t have to worry about that. I really don’t mind,” reassured Owen. Owen was telling the truth: he did enjoy being with her, but the fact that he sabotaged her dates made him feel like he truly didn’t deserve to be in her company.

His guilt, however, was instantly forgotten (temporarily, anyway) when she beamed at him as their ride started to ascend. The afternoon sun peaked through the mountains and gave Claire an almost ethereal glow and Owen couldn’t help but stare.

It was there that he decided that he wouldn’t try to sabotage any more of her dates. It was time for him to be honest and straightforward with her.

Now if only Owen had the guts to actually ask her out.


	2. Honesty is the Best Policy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saboteur  
> by heavensgirl
> 
> Shorter chapter and a bit more serious than the previous one!  
> Thank you all for the lovely feedback on Chapter 1!
> 
> Standard disclaimer applies. Any names used in this story are fictional; they were randomly chosen for the purpose of this fanfiction.

**Chapter 2: Honesty is the Best Policy**

Owen was on his way to Claire’s office to drop off a report when he overheard her groan irritably from behind the slightly open door. To her left near the filing cabinets, Zara was chuckling to herself.

“I think I’m cursed,” Claire said in exasperation.

Zara raised an eyebrow as she handed a stack of folders to Claire. “Three failed dates do not mean you’re cursed.”

Claire groaned again. “Three _consecutive_ dates. Maybe it’s a sign that I shouldn’t date at all. Maybe it’s a sign that I’m un-dateable.”

(Owen forced himself to contain his laughter by biting on his tongue.)

Zara laughed then covered her mouth when Claire glared at her. “Sorry… I just think you’re looking at it negatively.”

“How should I look at it then?”

“Think of it as a sign that none of them were the ones for you,” explained Zara.

“How will I know who’s the right one for me?” Claire frowned as soon as the words were out of her mouth; God, she sounded desperate. “I should put off dating for a while.”

Zara clucked disapprovingly. “You’re not un-dateable. You never know… the next guy that might walk through that door will ask you out and you’ll have the best time of your life.”

Outside her door, Owen stiffened. It would literally take him two steps to make it inside her office. With a positive smile, Owen took the first step…

… and was beat to the punch by a guy named Leo, a fellow employee who just happened to work with him at the raptor paddock.

How in the hell did Owen not notice his approach?

Leo looked at him oddly as Owen stood still near the door. Leo was holding a bouquet of flowers that he handed to Claire before giving her a charming smile (it’s no secret that a large portion of the single male population that worked in Jurassic World has a crush on the redhead). Meanwhile, Claire stood there gaping while Zara gave her a knowing look.

Leo took a step closer to Claire. “Good morning, Miss Dearing.”

Claire raised an eyebrow as she took the flowers. “Good morning. What can I do for you?”

“I’d like to ask you out on a date,” he answered boldly, not minding that there was a third person in the room. “Are you available tomorrow night at 7pm?”

Claire just stared at the flowers, debating whether or not she should say yes. Zara cleared her throat and glanced swiftly at Leo to let her know that he was still waiting for Claire’s answer.

Claire gave him a small, forced smile. Why not? Maybe Zara was right and the fourth time’s the charm for her. “Sure, that sounds wonderful.”

Meanwhile, Owen was gently banging his head on the wall adjacent to Claire’s office door.

Just his fucking luck.

* * *

 

“I missed my chance.”

“Should’ve asked her a long time ago.”

A groan. “She’s out of my league.”

Barry gave Owen a sympathetic look. “You never know until you try.”

The radio on Owen’s desk crackled. “Owen, you might want to come over to the paddock. Right now.”

Owen sat rigid, fearing the worst. “What’s the situation? Are the girls okay?”

“It’s not your raptors that you should be worried about…”

“Stop beating around the bush and tell me what’s going on.”

“Leo is at the paddock with his date and it’s aggravating your raptors.”

Owen and Barry exchanged knowing – but terrified – looks.

“Oh shit.”

+++

Claire gripped on the railings of the platform so tight that her knuckled turned white and her nails slightly dug on her palm. “Leo, we should _not_ be here,” Claire said in a strict voice. She glared at him. “This is not a place for a date… at all.”

He waved her off. “Relax, I just want you to meet the raptors.”

Claire almost rolled her eyes; she was beginning to regret her decision of agreeing to go out on a date with him. But more importantly, she hated herself for being so impulsive (it was not like her to do things on a whim). Still too upset that the first three dates ended horribly (there was no other way to put it), Claire had agreed because she didn’t really think that a fourth, consecutive date would turn out just as badly. But as her luck would have it, that fourth date was about to be the worst one.

Claire crossed her arms and turned away from him, looking out at the paddock where she saw the raptors pacing below them, clearly agitated by their presence. She turned around when she felt a presence behind her and saw Leo bring his face close to her, his eyes closed. She took a step back against the railing as an attempt to dodge his unwanted advances and felt the metal tremble before it gave way, causing her to fall on a grove of bushes.

For a few seconds, Claire felt grateful that the bushes semi-cushioned her fall. However, that feeling was short lived when she heard a collective hiss. Less than 10 feet from her were the four raptors, looking like they were ready to eat her. “Oh my God,” she gasped, struggling to disentangle herself from the shrubbery.

Blue snarled in her direction and took a few steps forward. Her three sisters followed her lead. Claire was still caught in the bushes when Owen Grady took a position between her and his raptors.

Owen raised his left arm and made eye contact with each member of his pack. “Hold!”

Claire, who had multiple scratches from head to toe, approached Owen cautiously. “Owen, be careful.”

“Stand down!” Owen ordered to his raptors while he ushered for Claire to position herself behind him. The raptors stayed on their spot as they watched their Alpha protect the stranger. At the same time, Owen tried to not be too distracted as Claire clutched on his arm in fear.

Owen looked at the catwalk above them and saw ACU members point their Taser rifles at his raptors. “Don’t!” he yelled as Blue, Delta, Echo, and Charlie growled.

“Owen, Miss Dearing’s life is at risk here!” shouted one of the ACU troopers.

“I know that!” Owen snapped, his eyes darting to Claire. “But I won’t let you harm my raptors either.”

“Owen…” Claire whispered, her lips trembling. Owen took a step back so his body was completely shielding her while she continued holding his arm.

“Claire, do you see that gate on the right?”

She glanced at the direction he pointed and saw one of the smaller gates of the paddock. “Yes.”

“We’re going to slowly make our way there,” he gestured for her to start walking. “But do not, under any circumstance, turn your back on them.”

Claire nodded wordlessly, taking hold of Owen’s free hand (which took him by surprise). Owen gave her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand. Together, they slowly walked towards the small gate as the raptors made their way toward them, snarling and hissing at the same time but never making an actual move to attack.

For Claire, it felt like hours until they both reached the gate. Barry, who was waiting for them on the other side, pressed a button to unlock the gate and gently pulled Claire inside while Owen still kept his gaze on his raptors.

“Steady, girls,” Owen said soothingly, smiling as he noticed them visibly calm down. Owen took a few, cautious steps backwards until he reached the gate, with Barry closing it with a press of a button. Owen released the breath he was holding before turning his attention to Claire.

Owen wanted to break the tension, so he settled for some lighthearted humor. He grinned at Claire. “If you wanted to be up close and personal with my raptors, you could’ve told me.”

He didn’t expect what came next. Within seconds, Claire wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in the crook of his neck while she kept whispering “Thank you” to him like a mantra. He instinctively enveloped her with his arms, murmuring “You’re okay, we’re okay” until he felt her relax within his embrace.

* * *

 

It was Owen’s day off. Days off usually meant hanging out near his bungalow or doing outdoor activities like hiking or even fishing at the lake next to his humble abode. As much as he enjoyed being at the paddock and bonding with his girls, he also savored the days where he could relax and enjoy some of his favorite hobbies.

Today, however, Owen felt lethargic so he opted to stay in his bungalow, watching TV with a bottle of beer. It’s been two days since the incident in the raptor paddock; Leo was removed from his position with the raptor project and was moved to work with some of the lesser dangerous dinosaurs in the park. As for Claire, she had left the paddock with a medical team to ensure that no bones were broken after her fall. Owen visited the control room the day after to check up on her (and because he wanted to tell her the truth), but Claire was not present. Lowery told Owen she took a couple of much-needed vacation days but did not specify where she would be.

It was unlike her to make such last minute plans; it worried Owen, especially because he knew that part of the reason why she must be upset was because of her failed dates – and Owen knew she genuinely looked forward to those dates – that _he_ intentionally ruined because he didn’t have the courage to ask her out.

It wasn’t like him at all; he had no problems asking out other women in the past. But Claire… well, she was different than the others. She was an extremely independent woman; she was headstrong and tenacious, yet she also had a soft and vulnerable side. That’s why it was hard for him to ask her on a date: because he was intimidated by her.

_“Just tell her the truth, Owen”_ was Barry’s advice to him when Owen voiced out his concerns to his friend. Owen knew Barry was right; the truth always wins.

A knock on the door pulled him from his thoughts.

Owen frowned. When Owen took a day off, Barry or one of the other guys at the raptor paddock would usually contact him through radio if there was a situation that needed his attention. There was no need to go all the way to Owen’s bungalow.

“What do you want?”

The voice that replied almost made Owen fall from his chair. “Owen?”

He choked on his drink. “Claire?!” he sputtered, not believing his ears.

“Did I come at a bad time?” she said from the other side of the door. “I can come back if you’re busy…”

“No, I’m not busy,” Owen said, composing himself. After taking a few inhales and exhales to calm his rapidly beating heart, Owen opened the door of his trailer.

“Hi,” he greeted, taking in the sight of her wearing denim jeans and a simple peasant top. He thought she always looked stunning in what she wore, even in casual clothing.

“Hi,” she mimicked his greeting.

“You okay?” Owen asked, taking a step closer to her. She looked fretful and it worried him.

“It’s been a horrible couple of weeks,” she admitted while Owen clenched his jaw as the guilt came at him in full force. “But when I look back at those weeks, they weren’t _too_ horrible because you helped make them better.”

It was now or never.

“Claire, I haven’t been completely honest with you,” Owen started. He held up a hand when Claire was about to cut him off with a question. He ran a hand through his hair and chuckled nervously. “I’ve been… sabotaging your dates.”

Her wearied look instantly turned angry. She pushed on his chest, upset and seething. “YOU WHAT?! How could you?”

“Let me explain-”

“And here I thought I was having the worst luck of my life,” she continued, not letting him talk. “Who the hell do you think you are? Who gave you the right to mess up my life like that?!”

“I’m so sorry, Claire…”

She was yelling now. “I can’t believe it! So all those nice things you did for me – having dinner with me, bringing me home, joining me in the gondola – all those were staged?!”

“No, of course not-”

“So I guess that whole incident with the raptors was staged, too? You somehow did something so that I would fall and you would rescue me so I would think you’re my hero? I could’ve died there, Owen!”

“Now hold on a sec!” Owen’s raised voice silenced Claire. “I may have sabotaged your dates with Jacob, Beck, and David, but I would never‘stage’ all those things I did for you… those were genuine, Claire. And most importantly, I would _never_ risk your life like that!”

“Then explain to me what happened in the paddock!”

“You should know: Leo brought you there when he shouldn’t have. The railing was supposed to be repaired that morning but there was a delay. A few things got complicated and the contractors had to postpone it the day after. Leo was aware of the changes, but he didn’t take it seriously.”

Owen took a deep breath and continued, “When I say I’m sorry, I really mean it. I was wrong for sabotaging your dates. I just… I was jealous.”

Claire frowned. “If you were jealous, why didn’t you ask me out instead of doing all those things?”

“Because I didn’t think I was good enough for you.”

She pursed her lips and lowered her head. Her anger was starting to dissipate at his honesty and his sudden show of openness. “Why would you think that?” she asked.

He laughed bitterly. “Look at me, Claire. I’m just the raptor trainer; and here you are at the top of the corporate ladder who can date any guy you liked. I’m no match for those guys you were dating.”

“Oh, Owen…”

“I’m really sorry, Claire,” muttered Owen. He decided that he couldn’t face her anymore so he turned around to walk back in his trailer. However, Claire’s hand grasped one of his.

“Owen, wait.”

“Look, I don’t think I can look at you anymore without feeling guilty or sorry for myself,” he said. “I think it’s time for you to leave, I’m sorry.”

“I accept your apology.”

Owen blinked. “What?”

“I accept your apology,” repeated Claire. “I’m still mad at you, but you did save my life and that was not staged at all.”

An awkward silence fell on them. Owen shifted his weight from one foot to another while he looked at everywhere but Claire. It wasn’t until Owen felt her tug that he realized they were still holding hands.

He looked at her then. “Claire?”

Her face broke into the tiniest of smiles. “Thank you, Owen.”

“For what?”

“First, for rescuing me.”

“Okay...”

“And second: for helping me look at the brighter side of this whole mess.”

“Huh?”

“Well… this whole fiasco – which was mostly your fault, by the way…”

“No need to rub it in…”

“… gave me the opportunity to get to know you better.”

Owen stood there in silence so Claire took that as her cue to continue, “Even though you sabotaged those dates just so you can spend time with me, I genuinely enjoyed the time we spent together because I learned a lot of things about you… it was really nice when it was just you and me.”

A faint blush tainted her cheeks. “So I guess what I’m trying to say is… Owen, would you like to go out for dinner sometime?”

Owen stood there, stunned. “You’re asking me out even though I ruined all your dates? I thought you’d be mad at me for the rest of my life.”

She scrunched her nose. “Oh, I’m furious. In fact, I’m so furious that I was tempted _not_ to ask you out anymore.”

“Wait, you were planning to ask me out?”

“Well, yeah… that was the reason why I came here in the first place.”

“But then I got you mad.”

She nodded. “But then you got me mad.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know, but I’m still mad at you.”

“Understandable.”

Claire smiled at him, her eyes sparkling. “You’ll have to make up for it during our date, Mr. Grady.”

Owen matched her smile with a grin. “So… a real, official date this time?”

Claire laughed. “Yes. Just make sure nobody would sabotage it.”

“Deal. A date it is then…”

Her whole face brightened and Owen thought she was the most beautiful thing he ever laid his eyes on. Their hands were still entwined and Owen couldn’t help but smile. “Just you and me.”

[ FIN ]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N:  
> \- My apologies if the update took sooo long… this chapter went through so many changes.  
> \- I started writing this around the time they announced the date for JW2 and that both Chris and Bryce will be returning. SO EXCITED. WHO’S WITH ME?!  
> \- Claire was quick to forgive, eh? OOC there, definitely, hence the tag ;)
> 
> As usual, reviews and likes are appreciated!  
> Yours Truly, HG
> 
> PS: Working on Chapter 2 of “After Hours”. Might take about a week or two for it to get finished, so please stay tuned! :)
> 
> PPS: A lovely reviewer who goes by the name Lord Destroyer left a feedback on FFN wondering if Claire knows Owen has been sabotaging her dates all along… while that was not my original plan, now I'm thinking of writing an alternate ending to this story to reflect that wonderful idea. What do y'all think?

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Please stay tuned for the last chapter! :)
> 
> As usual, comments and likes are deeply appreciated!
> 
> Yours Truly, HG


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